The Loud House Nickelodeon 
Episode 1a: Homeward Bound
The Loud House is back again. Now has dipped into an eighth season. So back in Season 5, the show I mean at the start of season 5 the very first episode of that season, had Lori- the eldest Loud child- move away from home to golf college and that was part of a new arc the show was doing. As it was , I'm not a big fan of the golf college concept, itself. Fine with Lori being in college, but they wrote the idea of a college also just being big into golf. That'd be like thinking that a university with a football program is just all football themed. The show also didn't really dip into her college life and probably because target audience wouldn't care as much as say the middle school adventures of Lincoln. Mostly because again, they didn't focus much on High School stuff either except in some doses.
That was a carry over in 3 seasons, now here they've decided to write something different. As stated by Lincoln at the start of the episode like some mad pitch man, he says that Lori has decided to take a gap year from college while she decides if golf is really her future. Did the show have regrets? The idea is that Lori has decided to move back to Royal Woods because sure.
There is a little more the Louds - meaning the siblings even more- had thought that Lori was going to move back home. A positive touch here is they acknowledged that Lori has grown to be independent as a character and really doesn't find the idea of moving directly back home as comfortable. She's going to find her own apartment. [A good thing this show doesn't take place in Denver, B, and/or in our real word] Also this episode gives away a ending clue in the start, interesting move. Through the episode Lori shows her independence by looking for an apartment, and finding a job. I will mention, easily gives up and doesn't find a different realtor.
Lincoln plus the rest of her siblings really don't want her to move. It's understandable [even though, they seemed to not mind her being gone before] that they love their eldest sister and want her to be close. The episode hinges on the idea that the siblings don't talk to Lori about how they feel, instead just decide to find away to make sure that she doesn't get an apartment. The end of season 7, that episode also had a plot that could be the same idea of characters don't want to tell a character how they feel about something, do a plan to stop them instead, and then blows up. That's a little problem there. I do, at least, get why all the siblings are invested in the same plan. The plan also hinged on the idea that Lori would stop after one realtor. [and the Lori doesn't check on realtors] Which works. Another positive note is they used Luan's found skill of acting to their worth here, she's a sunny part of this episode. She dresses up as a realtor and convinces Lori there are no good spots by going to random spots.
The episode shows the negative impact on Lori for staying home. She finds she can't handle sleeping in the same room as Leni anymore, apparently they don't modern internet than can handle multiple different wifi connection uses [this post isn't sponsored by Comcast]. She misses dinner. The unintended thing is that trying to not bother Lori meant they accidently helped her screw up her interview for a job. This is when they reveal that they are the ones that were the cause of her not being able to find a place. The argument could be we couldn't have a tension drama if they had told Lori how they felt in the first place, I offer a different view: do a different plot. That' doesn't ruin the episode, but it does say that they could have found a different way to address the conflict. Like maybe they tell Lori how they feel and work convince her to stay, but realize that she strives to be away from the coop but makes the compromise the ending of this episode had where she lives in Mr. Grouse's garage.
Too bad we don't get Lori getting her own actual apartment, but convenient converted garage is fine , I guess. I find this episode interesting concept and slightly in the execution. Lori has been kind of under explored in the series recently, so if this is their way of getting her more focus again it's a direction that at least doesn't feel badly thought out, but it does kind of show some of the confidence they had didn't work out. The show has been giving some focus to characters like Liam and others outside the Louds and I think that's fine too, and hope there's a good balance. Lori should get a little more thoughtful plots again too. Do think there could have been some other ways to explore her life in college, but at least they didn't try to erase things.
The episode's plot structure of using the idea of just having the other Louds go and try to make sure Lori can't find a place and then there we go, does kind of make it less interesting. I do understand the reasoning and logic of why the characters would do that, well kind of, but yeah there's a weakness there. I give the episode 7/10.
More after the Jump
I'm going to come out and say that this episode was kind of dry. That doesn't mean bad. Clyde and his grandma - Nana Gayle- have made desserts for the retirement home's pot luck. The residents love them and these two are given the idea to share their great baked goods in a food truck. There's a setup o to this episode where Clyde and Gayle find out they aren't fully as in sync as they thought.
It is a little surprising that Clyde was surprised by his Grandma's way of baking like he just met her and never saw her bake before. Her baking style doesn't make sense, but it's a show so alright. It's odd how that becomes the conflict as they both decide that they'll just make the food truck two different things and compete. [Imagine the tax forms] That's the episode to the extent, they spend the most of it competing.
There's also the Louds showing up, even has Lincoln introducing the episode. It feels like season 2 got lost in there. Like the episode is guiding you into having a Clyde family story as if this is your first time. [Is the show trying to reboot itself? ] It's odd then Louds show up later to put together the food van for the McBrides. I do like that moment since it does show a connection they have to that family, and didn't feel as "hand-holdy" as the start did.
Then um, Clyde and Gayle get into a weirder fight and then they hit the parking break and the truck goes all over the place as these two continue to fight. This is silly and not the fun way. just kind of silly. Then they make up and find out their truck is on a barge on the way to Ireland. I have a question. Did... they forget the show takes place in Michigan? I'm not joking. Episode tries to distract by mentioning Julia Child too. The show takes in place in Michigan, which at current writing isn't right there by the Atlantic ocean. Points off, just for making me look that up to see if it was possible. Even beyond that why? Why Ireland? Why on a boat? What was that?
It's kind of a weak and dry episode , where not much gets done and the story isn't that interesting and the ending wasn't funny enough to work. I give it 6.5/10.
That's it for now, tune in next time when we sue a cruise ship for not letting us take a route from Boulder to Austria.
Comments
Post a Comment